Penalty Game
by Famous Fault
Summary: An ancient king is filled with sorrow upon seeing what the world has come to. Now with the war at an end he decides to ban the darkness from the surviving hearts in Panem.


Please enjoy this little thing, written during the most boring vacation I've ever experienced

* * *

The day of Snow's execution was upon them. Coin had the rose that was to be placed over Snow's heart and the promise that he would be told about the impending Hunger Games, to be held with the children from Capitol. Applauds were heard indicating that Coin had entered the balcony. Effie Trinket pushed Katniss out onto the small terrace and into the sunlight. Then the crowd went absolutely quiet. For a moment Katniss thought she had done something wrong, but no one was looking at her and therefore she deduced that it was not because of her that the crowd had gone silent.

She followed their gaze and looked at the balcony, shocked to notice that it wasn't Coin who was standing there. She was laying on the floor of the balcony, unconscious, perhaps dead, who knew? Instead, in the place where Coin was supposed to be standing, stood a young man dressed in an outfit that Katniss had only ever seen in history books.

His burning red eyes looked down on the crowd, he looked at Katniss and at everyone else in the crowd, they were filled with a sadness that could not be measured. Katniss, who had been devastated ever since Prim died, knew that not even what she felt could live up to the grief the stranger on the balcony felt.

Everyone was quiet, watched him in utter silence, waiting for him to do something, anything. No one spoke, not even a whisper was heard. The man on the balcony seemed to have hypnotized the entire crowd, perhaps because of his ancient look, the grief on his features or perhaps his nearly demonic red eyes, whatever the cause, everyone was waiting for him to act.

Everyone, except the people who had been tasked with marching former president Snow to the pole for his execution. An execution in which she got to act executioner, one of her demands before becoming the Mockingjay. They marched him out as scheduled, unaware something was wrong until they stepped into the sunlight, at first they just marched on, thinking the abnormal silence of the crowd was due to Snow, but then they looked up and saw that that was not the case. They stopped, Snow still in between them. Snow was confused, it showed, but the expression of amusement was still there. He, as only person present, did not feel threatened by the appearance of that historical figure. And why would he be? He was to be killed anyway.

Then the man on the balcony sighed, it was not a loud sigh, but everyone heard it, due to Plutarch's skilled camera team. Every screen showed the man from different angels and distances, only one screen showed something else; the motionless body of president Coin. On the screen one could see her chest heave up and down, the man hadn't killed her.

He was bothered by the screens, he looked at them with distaste, then shook his head and seemed to fall to the floor. But he didn't, not really. He ended up in a sitting position, one knee drawn up and his other leg folded beneath it, he placed one hand on his knee and kept staring out over the crowd. He shook his head lightly and perhaps, for a second, a tear was seen in the corner of his eye, but no one could be sure, it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

The crowd remained silent, Snow remained amused and Katniss remained dumbfounded. Perhaps he was some crazy person from Capitol, his hair seemed to fit the average picture of someone from Capitol. But when he spoke, when he finally, after minutes of silence, spoke, all suspicion that he was from Capitol was elevated. He did not have the dialect, nor were the words he spoke anything like something a person from the capital would ever have said.

"Is this it?" he whispered. "Is this all that's left of you?"

He had a good point, Katniss looked around, everyone looked around and perhaps for the first time truly noticed how few people survived. Nearly none, perhaps enough to make sure the human race goes on, but perhaps not. Had the human race finally sentenced itself to extinction? That would probably be for the best.

"Just look at you", he whispered, then flies to his feet. "Look at you!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "What have you done?!" The edge wass taken of his anger by his grief. "Is there no good left in you?"

"Pharaoh Atem!" a child called out and was rewarded by a close-up of himself on one of the screens.

The name was quickly picked up by the rest of the people and it spread like wildfire. Pharaoh Atem, every child in Panem knew who Pharaoh Atem was. The discovery of his tomb had been a historical event, especially when people learned what he had done. That event in Egyptian history had gotten its own chapter in the history books, where Pharaoh Atem was put down as a cowardly leader who had fled the battle and left it to be concluded by one of the High Priests, Set. Pharaoh Atem had never been seen again.

Many historians had objected to that conclusion, but someone in the Capitol had decided that that was what should be taught and that was what they learned in the districts. But he was not the only historical leader unjustly accused of poor leadership and cowardice. Snow did everything to make himself look like a great leader, including diminishing those leaders that had been far greater than him. The teachers in Twelve had always secretly honored Pharaoh Atem because the history teacher there had been a descendent of one of the people who had discovered the tomb and therefore knew the true story.

But Katniss hadn't needed the subtle appreciation from the teachers in the twelfth district to know that Pharaoh Atem had been a great leader, it was visible on him. The way he moved, the way he stood and the almost royal way he glanced over them, even though his features were twisted with grief and anger.

"Never have I doubted my decision to give my life and afterlife for you, not until now. Did I sacrifice me and my friends for this? To have you destroy yourself? No!" He covered his eyes with one hand, as if he could not stand what he was seeing.

"Coward!" someone yelled at him.

The reaction was immediate. He opened his eyes and located the person who had said it with almost frightening accuracy and the look in his red eyes was burning. The insult did not sit well, but to everyone's great surprise he smiled. "You glorified yourself well, Snow", the ancient king said and looked at the president to be executed. "Who else did you bring shame upon? What other names have been blackened under your rule?" Then he shook his head. "It's okay, I'm use to having a poor name, it doesn't matter, I know what I did for you." Then he fell silent for a minute and a thoughtful crease appeared between his eyes.

People looked at Snow, as if he would have an explanation, naturally he didn't, he was just as clueless as the rest of them. Amused, yes, but clueless.

"For many thousands of years I never once regretted my decision to sacrifice both my life and my afterlife for this world, never, until now. You've destroyed yourselves! You use children as means of warfare, children! You have killed so many that there is no guarantee that our race will even continue to exist for much longer. I fought darkness, but you have welcomed it back into this world. Perhaps Dartz was right." He seemed highly troubled by his own words, but Katniss nor anyone else understood why. "Perhaps I should have let this world perish, but there are other ways, better ways to lift the curse you have cast upon yourselves and this land."

No one talked, everyone was mesmerized by this person, a person that indulged respect, but also fear as he stood on the balcony with his tortured expression. People looked at him, waiting.

"You've all succumbed to the weakness in your heart and see where it has gotten you! These weaknesses are unacceptable and destructive, therefore, no matter how much I hate to do it, I'm going to shatter your hearts", he proclaimed and had an expression on his face that showed that he was completely serious. Could he do that? Shatter their hearts? To Katniss it seemed like a long shot.

Children started wailing and others held on to those few they loved with fear and desperation on their faces. They had believed that they had survived but now the relief of having survived disappeared as this new threat arose. Some begged him loudly not to. Plutarch's team did not seem to feel very threatened, as the tv screens kept showing what was happening with the skill only his team could muster.

Pharaoh Atem closed his eyes. "Be at ease, I'll give you the chance to rebuild it, properly this time." He reached out a single hand towards the crowd. The crowd panicked, but Pharaoh Atem didn't seem to care. "You've lost the game of life! Penalty game!"

These were the last words Katniss heard before everything went black, these were the last words any of them heard. Then they all found themselves with the shattered pieces of their hearts in front of them and started to put them back together. Carefully, properly.

Pharaoh Atem sighed. He had not wished to interfere with the business of the living, but he had not been able to stand it anymore. Nothing would have changed, one tyrant would have been replaced with another and he couldn't allow that any longer. He had seen too much of the suffering of the people and how they slowly worked themselves into a dark and obscure path filled with suffering and death. Perhaps he had been a little harsh steering them back on the right path, but he did not regret it.

After all, it was like a loving parent with an astray child, even if it was the rough way, the parent would never allow their child to stray without trying to get them back. And these people were his people, a he had guarded them from demonic evil, now he would free them from the evil in their hearts and give them back their future.

* * *

Well, that's that. Please review.


End file.
